special shoutout to egg tarts, kaya jam, and the ice cream cart lady
It’s finally time for week 4 of Singapore!
I’ll admit, looking back at the photos from this week a year ago is making me really sad. All my weeks in Singapore were great, but this one was special. It encompassed one of my favorite weekends of the trip, starting off with the magical AMR workshop (which ended with one of the most unexpectedly lit nights of my life), a Saturday biking at the beautiful East Coast Park, and a Sunday solo-exploration of the city. Hopefully, the following photos manage to capture some of the excitement and wonder of the week. ๐
June is my favorite month. I love the long days and the sense of carefreeness that seems unique to this time of year — when the sun is out until 8 pm and you’re not far enough into the summer to be bothered by unproductivity. If June had a mantra, it would be guilt-free relaxation.
Last year, I spent summer solstice on a weekend trip to Cambodia — one of the most insightful experiences of my life. This year, I spent it at home, staring into a screen.
Let’s ignore this year for now (or forever).
For week #3 of my Singapore adventures, I will feature some beauties from a truly magical trip to Siem Reap. Spending only one full day in the city, it was the shortest trip of our summer, yet the amount of cultural enrichment that I experienced was remarkable. I left the country with a great appreciation for the Khmer people and a renewed perspective of the history of Southeast Asia.
As I spend yet another uneventful week in Riverside, here are some more glorious photos from this week a year ago, featuring our first SMURF weekend trip — Kuala Lumpur!
This post will also feature more food than usual, since, according to my coworkers, “Malaysia is just like Singapore but with cheaper food.” (considering how cheap hawker food in Singapore already is, this is really saying something)
On this day a year ago, I was exploring the Gardens by the Bay, about to begin the best summer of my life. Comfortably housed at the Treetops Executive Residences (featuring the best breakfast bar ever — I still miss the kaya buns), I Grabbed to work at NUS CREATE every morning, visited a different hawker stall every evening, and traveled to a new country practically every weekend. To call the contrast to my life right now starking is an understatement.
Being stuck in quarantine has given me plenty of time to bathe in nostalgia as I scrolled through the dozens of photos of smiling faces, delicious food, and sunsets by the beach that I still haven’t transferred out of my camera roll. Last summer feels unreal — so perfect that I sometimes think this summer is the universe’s punishment in order to “balance things out.” Singapore captured my heart forever, and all I can do now is read and watch (for the third time) Crazy Rich Asians, experiencing a rush of simultaneous excitement and sorrow every time a familiar landmark is brought up (which is all the time, as Singapore is a small country. Did you know Nick’s grandmother’s house is within walking distance of Treetops??).
I’ve been meaning to blog about my travels last summer for a while now, but I would get a little sad every time I tried to, so procrastination ensued. Since I am sad regardless right now, I guess it’s finally the appropriate moment! I won’t describe things too extensively, but I hope to post a couple of photos each week featuring some of the highlights of that week from a year ago. So voila, here are some photos from my first week in Singapore! (6/2/2019 – 6/9/2019)